YONO, Saitama Pref. -- The smallest man on the ice had perhaps the biggest impact in the game Saturday afternoon as Cliff Ronning and his Nashville Predators skated to a 3-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Saitama Super Arena.
The game marked the third time in the last four years that the National Hockey League has sent two teams to Japan to open their regular-season schedules. The clubs will square off again Sunday afternoon in Saitama before heading back to North America on Monday.
Ronning, a 14-year NHL veteran generously listed at 173 cm and 77 kg in the official program, scored the opening goal just over four minutes into the game when he blasted a slap shot that caromed in off the left post past Penguins goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin.